Penn State coach James Franklin classifies his freshmen by a stoplight color code, with their redshirt statuses labeled red, yellow or green. Another player will shift from yellow to green Saturday when the Lions host Maryland.

Franklin said that defensive back Troy Apke will become the ninth true freshman to play for Penn State, continuing the team's reliance this season on young players. It's a move Franklin made not only for this year but also for the future.

Penn State has noted repeatedly this year that it fields the nation's second-youngest FBS team (behind Pitt). The Lions have 12 fourth- or fifth-year seniors and 55 redshirt and true freshmen on their roster. More than 70 percent of the team's players are underclassmen, providing a good working base for the future.

But, with bowl-eligibility still two games away, Penn State has to try to win games now. It's doing so by adding more freshmen to the mix.

Apke would be the 14th true or redshirt freshman to play for Penn State this season. That's two more than the number of seniors Penn State has on its entire roster.

Apke, a 6-1 safety from Mount Lebanon, is helping fill voids left by injuries to two of Penn State's most experienced players. Apke plays free safety, the position that belonged to senior Ryan Keiser before his season-ending practice injury Oct. 23.

Franklin said Thursday on his radio show that Keiser, who sustained a fractured rib and underwent multiple surgeries for a related bowel complication, is doing "extremely well' in his recovery. Keiser remains hospitalized at Penn State Hershey Medical Center.

Apke also will play special teams in the absence of senior Zach Zwinak, who suffered a season-ending injury in last week's loss against Ohio State. Without Keiser and Zwinak, Penn State will start just four seniors against Maryland. The only senior starter on offense is running back Bill Belton,unless redshirt sophomore Akeel Lynch starts ahead of him.

Franklin knew during spring drills that he would need to populate his depth chart with first-and second-year players. So he kept his freshman class on a sliding red/yellow/green scale.

Despite the need at offensive line, Franklin has maintained his commitment to redshirting the true freshmen to let them gain size and strength. Some players, such as Apke and a few linebackers, are in the yellow category depending on injuries ahead of them. Linebacker Jason Cabinda got into the rotation when Nyeem Wartman missed a game due to injury.

The green-light freshmen always were scheduled to play. Most were defensive backs such as Grant Haley, Marcus Allen and Christian Campbell. Allen started in Keiser's place last week and likely will maintain that spot. Haley and Campbell are in the cornerback rotation.

At receiver, it's often easy to forget that DaeSean Hamilton is a redshirt freshman who did not play last year because of an injury. Hamilton, a candidate for Big Ten freshman of the year, caught a school-record 14 passes last week.

Joining him are true freshmen Saeed Blacknall and Chris Godwin, who have combined for three starts and 20 catches. Blacknall's highlight came last week against Ohio State, when he made a one-armed touchdown reception to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Freshman Mike Gesicki is seeing more time at tight end as well.

"From a youth standpoint, the young guys that are playing, they're no longer freshmen," Franklin said. "That can't be an excuse anymore. Even the guys on the scout team, I met with them and they've got to make sure they're not in the redshirt mode and mentality, because then they won't be ready to compete for jobs come spring or for a job if something changes and now they need to go in and play."

As much as Franklin wants to win now, he's also aware of the time his process will take. On his radio show Thursday, the Penn State coach pointed to 2016 as a year to watch.

"Coaching counts and it matters; we saw that for 50 years here," Franklin said. "But this is a players' game. Good players make smart coaches. … I think we're going to make great progress the rest of this year and next year. I think in year three, it's going to get real interesting."